Loose Skin?

Hey guys,

A little bit of background. I used to weight over 300lbs about 2 years ago and have been cutting ever since. Now I'm down to 182lbs and Omron electronic body fat analyzer has my bf% around 15%. I was wondering is the area around my stomach and chest loose skin? I think its body fat but my family insists its loose skin and want me to stop cutting. Also what can I do to get rid of my gut and get my chest flat?

Looks like loose skin to me....... you do not have a high body fat % or a lot of muscle mass and so if you keep cutting you are going to be underweight before long. Besides which I doubt any amount of cutting will improve that excess skin, especially on your chest area.

IMHO I think you are looking at having a gynecomastia surgery and a tummy tuck to get rid of the skin........... I know that is depressing but if I were you I would be proud to have lost the weight and also pleased to get away without having excess skin on the arms or legs too.

That looks like loose skin to me, especially on the chest. 182 on 6'2" is a decent weight; cut any more and you might look scrawny.

Losing over 100 pounds in 2 years is a monumental accomplishment... that's FAST! It's entirely possible that your skin will tighten further over time. I would recommend building some muscle: it will show really well on your arms as they look quite lean, and it might fill out the loose skin over your pecs a bit. If things are still looking a little baggy in a couple years, you may need to consider plastic surgery to remove some excess.

I would also recc avoiding UV exposure without sunscreen. You don't want to be doing anything that compromise your skin's ability to bounce back, and UV definitely breaks down skin's elasticity.

IMO surgery is the only way bro Im in for a tummy tuck in a few months my stomach is worse than yours but I got away with the gyno,no amount of cutting is going to help you how can that chest skin suddenly pull itself back up to where its supposed to be.Once you have had the surgery you can start adding some muscle and getting where you want to be youve done your part with the massive weight loss, sometimes if weve been too fat there is just no way of avoiding it,

The problem you have is you will be cutting to nothing as you are not built and because of the skin you will still look saggy if you add muscle the skin will still be there as well its a pain in the arse man a lot of us are going through it

Last edited by gbone74; 07-22-2009 at 06:43 AM.

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Def loose skin, which like the others said in all honesty will almost certainly require surgery at some point to rectify. But can I just say, what an amazing job you have done - congratulations on your fantastic weight loss!

The correct BF% for you to have is the one you are happy with. Essential fat for males is 3% so you can go much lower if you want to. Only you can decide when and where to stop. The guideline ranges are 14 to 17 for "fit" and 6 to 13 for "athlete". Nothing wrong with your 15% unless you want to get down to athlete range!

As for your skin, this depends a lot on your genes. All living tissues in the body remodel over time, and each cycle takes about 4 months. You will need to give it several cycles to get an idea of how it will work for you. Some people will have great results and will look entirely normal, while some will need plastic surgery. At your age, you have a decent chance at good results.

I just noticed your pretty young I would talk to a professional about the lose skin and see what they think as your 19 I would imagine it might go back more then we think.

is the weight loss recent? Give it time and see what happens.

The weight loss has been from 2 years until now so yes its recent. I'm going to my doctor monday to find out what I can do about it and if it'll go back over time cause I want to use surgery as a last resort. If anything for now I'm gonna try and build muscle and hopefully it'll fill out some of it.

I've lost a significant amount too, and have some loose skin now. I've noticed, though, that the more muscle I build the better my skin looks.

Last December I had a consultation with a plastic surgeon about all of this. Essentially, he told me to wait before taking the plunge. His advice was to lose the remaining excess fat I had (I'm still in the process of this) and add more muscle, then wait a year to see how much the skin will improve on its own. Though I'll likely still have the have surgery, he assured me that some improvement over time was possible (and even likely) and that waiting a while could help reduce the amount of surgery I need.

Since your weight loss is still recent, I would suggest the same. Build muscle, lose a little more fat, then maintain a lower body fat percentage for a while to allow your skin to catch up (as much as is possible). Then see a surgeon to schedule your procedure.

Thanks for the replies everyone and the kind words. I was hoping it wasn't loose skin, kinda depressing knowing I may have to go under the knife at some point.

You are 19 and your skin still has a tremendous mount of elasticity. From here on out you need to keep up with fish oil, apply a good firming lotion after showering (everyday), keep yourself well hydrated (1 to 2 gallons of water a day) and began to add muscle (especially focusing on chest/traps/back).

People whom have bulked/cut/bulked/cut and kept there in good condition by doing what I stated above have taken care of there problem without going under the knife. It's going to take years of hard work.

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I've lost a significant amount too, and have some loose skin now. I've noticed, though, that the more muscle I build the better my skin looks.

Last December I had a consultation with a plastic surgeon about all of this. Essentially, he told me to wait before taking the plunge. His advice was to lose the remaining excess fat I had (I'm still in the process of this) and add more muscle, then wait a year to see how much the skin will improve on its own. Though I'll likely still have the have surgery, he assured me that some improvement over time was possible (and even likely) and that waiting a while could help reduce the amount of surgery I need.

Since your weight loss is still recent, I would suggest the same. Build muscle, lose a little more fat, then maintain a lower body fat percentage for a while to allow your skin to catch up (as much as is possible). Then see a surgeon to schedule your procedure.

Best of luck and congratulations on your success!

Props to your doc-- that's super-respectable for a surgeon who is paid to do exactly the opposite of what he advised!

Build muscle, lose a little more fat, then maintain a lower body fat percentage for a while to allow your skin to catch up (as much as is possible). Then see a surgeon to schedule your procedure.

This seems to make the most sense man.

I've got a bit more fat, and maybe a bit more muscle mass, but you and I actually look pretty similar shirtless OP. I'll be in the same boat, and I'm pretty much accepting the fact that if I want this extra hanging skin gone, I'll need surgery. I'm fine with it, it'll be worth it, just like every bit of weight lost has been worth the effort.

Definitely bulk though. 15% BF makes it seem like there should be room for cutting, but I think because of the skin maybe the Omrons not quite right, you look skinny under the skin, not much fat. Regardless at 6'2" 182, you can bulk for a while, then go back to cutting.

Before considering surgery I would go on a few cut and bulk cycles, start bulking right now, probably to 200 or so. cut and get down to 12% bulk up to 205 or 210 and cut down to 8%BF. Bulk up again then cut to 6% or lower and then keep get your BF to about 12% this should make your skin tighter, how much tighter idk but it might be tight enough for you to not consider surgery anymore.

Congrats on your tremendous success is losing weight! You should be really proud. I agree is everyone that it just looks like loose skin. You've probably been in "fat loss" mode for so long that your psyche is falsely telling you its fat and you need to lose more weight. On the contrary, I'd try and build up some muscle mass to fill out a bit and give the skin time to tighten up a bit. After all, some people have the opposite problem of getting stretch marks. Therefore, you wouldn't want to cut out the skin surgically, only to start lifting weight and get strech marks. Try to "grow into your skin" with some weight lifting 3-4 days a week. If you don't see improvement after a year, then go for the surgical route. Keep in mind that skin is amazingly elastic. Good luck.

Thanks for the replies everyone and the kind words. I was hoping it wasn't loose skin, kinda depressing knowing I may have to go under the knife at some point.

i fear the same thing, have you lifted weights all this time?

you could honestly try eating like a horse, good foods and lifting weights heavy, might be able to tighten it up some in a year or so of mass building?

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Thanks again to everyone for your advice, it honestly means a lot and has me determined to build muscle and try to get the body that I want. I will rep on recharge.

Originally Posted by dbluegoat

i fear the same thing, have you lifted weights all this time?

you could honestly try eating like a horse, good foods and lifting weights heavy, might be able to tighten it up some in a year or so of mass building?

No I haven't lifted weights which is the reason I think I have so much excess skin around my stomach and chest especially. It was only till I got around the 210-200lb mark did I start doing any kind of resistance training, I began to use resistance bands, and any muscle that I have is because I started using them. I will start lifting weights now, I'm really determined to try building muscle before even thinking of any kind of medical procedures.

A little bit of background. I used to weight over 300lbs about 2 years ago and have been cutting ever since. Now I'm down to 182lbs and Omron electronic body fat analyzer has my bf% around 15%. I was wondering is the area around my stomach and chest loose skin? I think its body fat but my family insists its loose skin and want me to stop cutting. Also what can I do to get rid of my gut and get my chest flat?

Congratulations on the weight loss! Does it not feel so much better having that weight off?

Loose skin-

[QUOTE=The718;360510131]Hey guys,

A little bit of background. I used to weight over 300lbs about 2 years ago and have been cutting ever since. Now I'm down to 182lbs and Omron electronic body fat analyzer has my bf% around 15%. I was wondering is the area around my stomach and chest loose skin? I think its body fat but my family insists its loose skin and want me to stop cutting. Also what can I do to get rid of my gut and get my chest flat?

Congrats on your tremendous weight loss. I agree with many of the posters that at 19, you have more supple skin and should allow time for the skin to tighten up. Of course, adding muscle, drinking adequate water, good nutrition an adequate sleep will help all of this. I am 58 and weigh 190 lbs. At 22, as a competitive BB, I weighed 225 off season and 178 at competition with 8% bf. My body fat at this age runs between 10-14 % year round. I do have loose skin around my waist, but maintain a 32# waist. You can see my abs and intercostals at 12%. At 52, I had less loose skin, but I also ran 3-5 miles per day at an intense interval pace; 1 mile intense, walk until HR less then 100; repeat. My bf was <10% year round. I suffered a setback at 52 when I was hospitalized for bacterial endocarditis requiring a heart valve replacement, only to be repeated in 3 12 months because it failed. I recovered strength-wise in 4 months post-surgery, but not aerobically to the fitness I enjoyed before(6:30 miles and 10-15 miles/week) I am easier on myself now, because at my age, I don't see a competition in my future. I also have a 6 & 8 year old boys, which have priority over athletic endeavors. I do push myself in the gym on strength training, though. I hope to regain my previous bench of 335# and improve squat and deadliest. Looking good and feeling good is my goal. You are so young that the future is bright for you to achieve all of your desired goals. Build more muscle mass, firsthand. That alone will help with the loose skin. My loss of size from 225-190# caused loose skin, as well. I lost 3" in biceps(20-17), 4" in chest(50-46"), 3" in thighs(26-23"). The loose skin was isolated to the waistline. I don't want a Dorian Yates waistline appearance, but more a Lee Labrada look. I suggest you take all of the posters comments and try a few for 30-60 days and see if a transformation is happening. Good luck to you!